


autumn-ish

by neptunestrings



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Super Dangan Ronpa 2
Genre: Gen, Soul Friends
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-06
Updated: 2020-07-06
Packaged: 2021-03-05 05:01:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,190
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25108894
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/neptunestrings/pseuds/neptunestrings
Summary: He meets a plain looking guy on the subway.
Relationships: Hinata Hajime & Soda Kazuichi
Comments: 5
Kudos: 14





	autumn-ish

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt: Write a short story in which a mechanic and a doctor play main roles. 
> 
> Leave me some comments and tell me how I did

Kazuichi always knew he was going to end up working in a mechanic shop. He doesn't mean it in a negative way or anything- in fact, he loved it! Machines were his passion and he's glad to be working a job that he actually likes. 

It's just that he talks more to his machines than actual people. 

There's always Sonia, but she's back in her country and the time zones are wildly different. She's often asleep when he comes online. He's in touch with Komaeda but they never really talk. Kazuichi just texted him to apologize for being such an ass to him back in school. There's his apprentice, but Miu's in high school and counting an actual kid as a friend is a little bit sad. His life is a bit sad if he thinks about it, but he doesn't often think about it. 

So he sits and wonders if he even has the capacity to befriend people anymore. He realizes that he's not outgoing enough or casual enough and that makes him feel a bit like the banana peel he saw hanging out of the trash that morning. 

_ 

He meets someone on the subway. 

Sonia and Gundham were back in town and everyone from 77-B was planning to meet up and laugh like they used to back when they were kids. Kazuichi definitely misses those times. Even though he made Sonia uncomfortable and continued to mercilessly shit on Komaeda and Gundham for no apparent reason, he still misses being in Hope's Peak. He was excited to meet everyone again. 

He was a little apprehensive, though. He thinks about everyone's achievements and their brilliant social lives and then looked at himself and couldn't help but wrinkle his nose. He knew he was going to feel terrible about himself after this whole party was over but he realized he'd feel bad either way.

So he made his way to the station and cautiously poked his head past the yellow line. There was no metro in sight and he could help but angrily click his tongue at that. He began to get impatient, fidgeting and shuffling his feet like a little kid. The guy next to him was apparently not having any of that and told him to stop. Kazuichi turned to apologize to the guy, who accepted it with a curt, "It's fine."

He was pretty plain, with brown hair and skin and brown-green eyes. The only noticable thing about him was a thick strand of hair that stuck up above the others at a considerable height, and he found himself wondering how the man managed to wear hats with that. The sound of the metro arriving jolted him and he immediately dashed into the train and snagged a seat. The same guy sat in front of him and began reading a book. He felt like he needed to say something, so he opened his mouth and said the most childish thing he'd said in years. 

"So, uh. What's your favorite colour?"

The man blinked and looked up from his book. "Are you talking to me?"

"Yeah. I like pink and yellow and maybe blue. Light green is nice too."

"I like blue. And maybe red." The man's face was confused, like he didn't understand why he was talking to him. He was perfectly justified too. Kazuichi had no idea why he just randomly decided to ask this guy what his favorite colour was. 

"Sorry about that," he muttered. "That was a bit stupid of me, yeah?"

To his surprise, the other man laughed. "Kind of. I didn't really mind it, though." He smiled and stuck out his hand. "I'm Hinata Hajime. Nice to meet you."

He stared at the man's hand for a few seconds before grabbing it and frantically shaking it while introducing himself. The rest of the train looked at him like he was mad, but Hinata paid that no attention as they chattered away till Kazuichi's stop came by. 

_ 

The next time he met Hinata was in a grocery store. He had stupidly emptied out his whole fridge and forgot to refill it, which wasn't exactly the best idea when you have a teenager around. He was poking around at the cereal boxes when he heard a familiar voice sighing. He turned to see the same guy angrily muttering about the lack of orange juice. And before he could stop himself he yelled, "Hey, you're the dude from the metro!" and immediately felt like slapping the shit out of himself because that was the most ridiculous shit he's pulled up to date. 

Thankfully, Hinata didn't wrinkle his nose or laugh at him. He just walked over with a smile and started complaining about the lack of orange juice in the store and the fact that their tomatoes were all terrible and squishy. He sounded a bit like a crabby old woman and when Kazuichi pointed that out, all the other man did was laugh and say that he'd gotten the habit from his mother. Hinata seemed to be a nice guy, so he decided to be a big boy and ask this guy for his number. He got stared at when he asked and straight up told got told that he doesn't have a number. 

"All you had to do was say you didn't like me, I can take it."

"You're misunderstanding," he snorted. "The only electronic device I have is a computer to keep in touch with clients. I don't exactly have the best history with phones."

Weird, he thought as he waved Hinata goodbye, but he seems like a decent guy. Everybody has their quirks. 

_ 

Kazuichi's sitting in a coffee store and sipping his frappuccino when Hinata slides into his booth and says, "We keep meeting, huh?"

"Yeah. We have to be friends at this point."

Hinata grinned, bringing his coffee to his mouth and blowing on it. He still burnt his tongue when he sipped it and Kazuichi laughed at him for five minutes straight. He learnt a lot about Hinata that day. He was a pediatrician and he lived in the same city as he did. He called his stupid strand of hair an ahoge and told Kazuichi to shut up when he started snorting at that. He had a twin brother and a sister. His favorite season was autumn because of pumpkin pie and he hated summer because he found the heat unbearable. 

"I was also pretty depressed in high school," he mentioned, a darker look crossing his face. "I mean, everyone is depressed in high school. But I honestly feel like mine was a lot worse than the other kids. I was constantly miserable and stressed. I felt like however much I did it wasn't enough. I had a bunch of teachers who absolutely despised me too. They didn't exactly make life a lot easier." He sipped his coffee again and sighed. "But I'm doing a lot better now. I got help, found better friends, found something I'm actually passionate about. It's a lot better than it used to be."

Kazuichi gave him the directions to the mechanic shop. Hinata took them and promised he'd drop by sometime. 

_ 

The day Hinata comes by to visit him was when he was working on a particularly difficult project. He was attempting to make a model for an electric car and was hissing and spitting at the stupid thing when Hinata popped in to see him. 

He was suddenly acutely aware of the fact that he had not had a bath for three days and probably looked like a mess right now. He probably stunk of oil and shit and definitely felt a bit like the pair of purple Y-fronts someone had left on their balcony railing that morning. 

Hinata waved it off and came to sit next to him. "What's this about?"

He immediately broke into a detailed explanation of how exactly the larger version would work and how he finally got funding from that one asshole rich guy. "His name's a bit like that pokemon from Kanto or something. Togepri or Tokemi or something."

"Do you mean Togami?" Hinata asked, an amused look on his face. "Call him by his proper name when you see him, yeah?"

Hinata was the only person to actually take an interest in his work apart from Miu, and he found himself relaxing around the guy a lot more. The other man came by more often to sit with him, and he found himself appreciating the guy a lot more. 

Before Kazuichi knew it, months had passed and his friendship with Hinata had gotten even better. People would give them odd stares whenever they walked together in public. He kind of understood why they were doing it. Hinata looked like this nice, respectable guy and then there was a guy like him walking next to him. Of course it would look odd. 

It didn't mean it wouldn't bother him, though, because his self esteem was already shit and these staring people didn't help matters. Hinata never seemed to pay them any attention. He doubts the other man even realized people were looking at them. It should be something Kazuichi doesn't think twice at, but for some reason he can't shake it off.

_

Hinata came by when Miu was working there one time. Kazuichi immediately greeted him with a fist bump that he returned while his apprentice frowned like she didn't get what was going on. After a few seconds of staring at him like he had grown three new heads, she yelled, "What are you punching the air for?"

Kazuichi scowled back. "Don't be rude, this is Hinata."

Miu threw back her head and roared with laughter. "I can't believe you got so goddamn lonely," she wheezed, grabbing her sides, "That you named some random air."

Hinata had this guilty look on his face but it quickly vanished once he began their daily banter. What Miu said did bother him though, but it was probably just he being a rude piece of shit and pointing how plain Hinata was. Once Hinata left, he turned and scowled at her. 

"That was rude. Keep shit to yourself, you really hurt him."

Miu immediately started cackling again, but she stopped when she saw the look on his face. "You're not kidding?"

"Obviously."

Her face was uncharacteristically serious as she scribbled something on a piece of paper and handed it over to him. "This is for a shrink. I-It's obviously not mine, it's Kokichi's guy. Anyways, this golden brain of mine thinks that you need to visit him because-" she paused a little as she got up and dusted herself down. "You're not exactly okay if you talk to air."

_

Hinata didn't come visit after that. It was a bit of a good thing, because it would be really awkward around him. On the other hand, he missed him so badly he felt like going down to the coffee shop to see if he was sitting there. He went to visit the psychiatrist and sat in there waiting for an hour before the guy called him in. 

The man pushed up his glasses. "So tell me what you're struggling with."

Kazuichi told him everything about Hinata. And when he was done, the man put down his notepad and leaned forward, putting his elbows on the table. 

"Have you heard of a term," he drawled, "called schizophrenia?" 

_ 

Hinata visited two weeks later, softly knocking on the door and poking his head in. He silently sat next to Kazuichi, staring at the wall. 

"You aren't real." He began, fiddling with his screwdriver. 

"I'm not." 

Kazuichi rubbed his eyes. "You didn't think to tell me?"

"Imagine how that would have sounded. You'd have never believed me."

He rubbed his eyes even harder. 

"You're getting grease on your face," Hinata sighed and reached a hand out to wipe it off. "Why are you so upset?"

"I though I actually made a friend for once. I've been so isolated since after high school and felt so _disconnected _from actual people. I've been trying for so long and thought I could make a real life person like me but," He sniffled a little and stopped rubbing his eyes. "It turns out I was doing the exact same thing the lonely kid in second grade does."__

____

Hinata was quiet for a little bit before offering, "Maybe this was practice for when you actually meet people you like?"

____

"It was a stupid way of doing it."

____

"Do you regret it?"

____

"No."

____

His friend had a little smile on his face as he linked their arms. "Even if I'm a figment of your imagination, I really enjoyed the time we spent together. I bet I helped your useless ass in some way."

____

He smiles against his will. "You did."

____

"Well, I guess it's time for me to leave then." Hinata turned to him and pulled his hair. "Remember me when you think of autumn, Kazuichi."

____

He blinked. Hinata was gone. 

____

_ 

____

____

He finds himself missing Hinata more than ever when autumn arrives.

____

**Author's Note:**

> this was bouncing around in my head for a while, so I'm glad I finally got it out. 
> 
> let me know if this was offensive in any way


End file.
